Brazil’s corruption scandals keep piling up, with many top-level officials being prosecuted lately. The Latin American country faces all forms of corruption, but because it has been historically under-reported in the media and not investigated thoroughly, it is quite difficult to estimate the magnitude of the problem. Unfortunately, the victims of this putrid system are the country’s citizens.
Given the highly bureaucratic judiciary system that can easily be bribed to make despicable acts of some politicians disappear, people find it very difficult to understand who the dishonest officials exactly are. And this is a major issue for Brazilians, especially because in 2018 they will have to vote for a new president, senators, federal and state deputies, governors, and vice governors. Almost the whole government!
With such unstable political background, the country’s most popular consumer complaints site Reclame Aqui joined forces with Grey Brazil and developed an online tool that spots corrupt politicians and makes all their unethical acts visible.
This week’s look to the past, #ThrowBrandThursday, brings to you the creative way Brazilians chose to fight against this social disease. The scale of corruption is so big in Brazil, that it now wears its own color. That’s right. The “Color of Corruption” is an online tool that uses bright purple to expose the corrupt politicians, while you’re surfing the web.
The digital ally of Brazilian people is a Google Chrome plug-in that is compatible with any website or social media network. The system monitors hundreds of politicians and can detect their names in any written content. A simple mouse over any colored name opens a pop-up window that reveals information about the illegal acts said politician has been involved in.
The platform organizes all corruption-related information and then transforms data into lists that can be accessed by a user so that they won’t find it difficult to discover the truth. “All this information is available on the web, but in an absolutely chaotic way, making the voter be confused because of not knowing who is who in the political landscape,” said Gray Brazil’s CCO, Rodrigo Jatene. He also adds that the plug-in is a “technological fight against corruption and impunity.”
A technological battle was also carried in Spain when its citizens took to the streets as holographic projections to protest against the country’s strict Gag Law, which threatens people’s freedom of speech and sets some strict limits.
Anyone can install the Colour of Corruption tool for free by downloading it from the campaign’s web page. You can surf the web as you normally do, while the app lets you know when it detects the name of a politician who has had trouble with the law.
The award-winning program was supported by the Catholic Pontificia University of Paraná (PUCPR). As a research partner, the institution has committed itself to providing information and evidence to prove the illegal actions of politicians. Thanks to this partnership, the program keeps an eye even on a larger number of corrupt leaders. The main goal is to monitor 100% of the country’s 70,430 political officials by 2020.
Maurício Vargas, Reclame Aqui Institute founder, said this is an effort to overcome a social issue that affects everyone and helps “Brazilian population conscientiously vote and fight against government corruption.” Does your country need a similar color? Let us know in the comments!